Samsung to unveil new Galaxy Note 9 in New York on Aug. 9

Samsung Electronics announced Thursday that it will unveil its new Galaxy Note 9 premium smartphone at 11 a.m. in New York on Aug. 9, confirming the official debut date for its latest device. 　The Korean tech giant sent out invitations to journalists and partners to join its flagship “Samsung Galaxy Unpacked” showcase event, which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The event will be livestreamed on Samsung.com. 　In the invite, Samsung unveiled a close-up photo of what

June 28, 2018

LG Uplus chairman expresses confidence in 5G and Huawei

SHANGHAI -- LG Uplus Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo said the company‘s 5G deployment plan is being carried out smoothly as planned, owing to Huawei. “Quality, performance and delivery of 5G equipment are meeting our expectations as Huawei is advancing ahead of other vendors,” Kwon said. LG Uplus Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo (Yonhap)“Huawei has the fastest and the best function out there,” said Kwon, to a question whether the firm would continue to cooperate with the Chinese firm. Vice Chairman Kwo

June 27, 2018

[Video] Asian telecom giants eye Shanghai as 5G race unfolds

SHANGHAI -- Some 60,000 officials from the telecommunications industry across the globe flocked to Shanghai on Wednesday as the largest mobile conference in the region kicked off, playing a pivotal role in the industry’s advances into the fifth-generation network. At the seventh edition of the Mobile World Congress Shanghai, global telecom industry officials, analysts and media paid attention to how rapidly China is moving toward the new 5G network era, expressing awe at the increased number of

June 27, 2018

Samsung to feature enhanced image sensor in new smartphones

SHANGHAI -- Samsung Electronics will equip its upcoming flagship smartphone in the second half of the year with an enhanced image sensor technology, dubbed “Isocell Plus,” for clearer and more accurate photos taken by its smartphones, according to a company official on Wednesday.“The new Isocell Plus will start to be mass produced for adoption by new smartphones slated for launch in the second half of the year,” said an official at Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business at the company’s exhibi

June 27, 2018

Black rice may help prevent osteoporosis: study

A new study suggested a possibility that black rice might help prevent the onset of osteoporosis.The joint study conducted by Eulji University and Korea University discovered that black rice extract can help prevent osteoporosis, the Rural Development Administration said on Wednesday.In the study, black rice aleurone layer extract was given to lab rats with osteoporosis over a period of 12 weeks and researchers found that bone density and bone strength among the rats increased 8 percent and 11 p

June 27, 2018

[Herald Interview] Merck ups focus on materials biz, where Korea is big market

German chemical and life sciences giant Merck KGaA has restructured its performance materials business with aims to strengthen its growth this year — a move that hints at Merck’s renewed attention to its key customers in the space including South Korean display makers Samsung and LG. 　Merck recently initiated a major restructuring of its performance materials business division. Previously broken down into smaller sub-units by material type, Merck’s materials business is now divided into three ar

June 26, 2018

Blockchain-based messenger app BeeChat offers versatile services

As blockchain-backed services move to embrace the masses, one startup aims to serve the fast-growing community of enthusiasts, followers, experts, investors and engineers who have yet to find a “go-to” place. China-based BeeChat is the first blockchain-based messenger app that also provides cryptocurrency distribution channels and other functions for the fast-growing industry. Built on QTUM, a decentralized blockchain application platform developed by Singapore-based QTUM Foundation, it has attr

June 26, 2018

KT unveils emergency platform using drones

KT Corp., South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, on Monday unveiled an emergency network service platform that features unmanned drones for search and rescue operations.Skyship, co-developed by local drone maker Metismake Inc., features a helium-powered airship and a high-resolution camera that can scan for mobile signals of people in need of rescue.The airship, which can scan for LTE or high-end fifth-generation signals, can determine a person's position to within 50 meters before sending

June 25, 2018

Korea No. 1 worldwide in smartphone ownership, internet penetration

South Korea ranks No. 1 worldwide in terms of smartphone ownership and internet usage, as nine in 10 Korean adults use the internet and own a smartphone, according to a new report released this month by the US-based Pew Research Center.　The research center conducted a survey on 40,448 respondents in 37 countries from Feb. 16 to May 8, 2017, on their internet and social media usage patterns as well as smartphone ownership. And in the survey, South Korea recorded the highest smartphone ownership r

June 24, 2018

SK Holdings talks with mobility startups Grab, Turo, SoCar

SK Holdings, the parent company of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, is moving to expand the scope of its global mobility business as it explores new potential partnerships and areas for cooperation with leading future mobility startups worldwide.SK Holdings said Sunday that it hosted a workshop with Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing giant Grab, US-based car-sharing service leader Turo and SoCar, Korea’s leading car-sharing firm, to discuss ways to forge synergies and partner fo

June 24, 2018

KT launches IoT-based electric bicycle

Mobile carrier KT said Friday that it had built an internet of things-based electric bicycle in partnership with bicycle maker Recon Hi-Tech. Dubbed “Air i,” the electric bicycle uses IoT technologies to reduce the risk of loss or theft. KT applied its IoT technologies and smart mobility platform to the bicycle in order to connect it to the company’s LTE-M network, allowing users to keep track of the bicycle’s real-time positions and remotely control operations. A model sits on Air i, an IoT-bas

June 22, 2018

Samsung focuses on solid-state batteries at forum

Professor Lee Se-hee of the University of Colorado delivers a presentation on solid-state batteries at a forum hosted by Samsung Electronics on Friday. (Samsung Electronics)Samsung Electronics focused on solid-state batteries as the next generation of lithium-ion batteries at an open forum on related technologies, it said Friday. The South Korean tech titan held the event to keep track of the latest progress in development of the new batteries and share industry cases. The forum held at Seoul Na

June 22, 2018

Fall of Korea’s top carpool app amid financial struggle, regulatory hurdles

South Korea’s top carpooling startup Poolus has laid off around 70 percent of its employees as part of business restructuring initiated by growing financial difficulties and regulatory hurdles that have weighed down on the app’s growth.　　Poolus confirmed Thursday that its CEO Kim Tae-ho had resigned as of June 7 during a board meeting. The startup said it has been seeing “stagnant earnings and operational difficulties due to regulatory issues” and will “re-examine the viability of its business a

June 21, 2018

Samsung SDI launches new high-voltage home ESS battery module

South Korea’s leading battery maker Samsung SDI unveiled its newest high-voltage home energy storage system battery module at a tradeshow in Germany, vowing to accelerate its penetration into the growing home ESS market, the company said Thursday. The latest residential ESS battery module revealed at the Electrical Energy Storage Europe 2018 in Munich features doubled energy density from last year’s products through the use of newly applied cell and module design technologies.  A visitor takes a

June 21, 2018

KT provides AI solutions for Ambassador Hotel Group

South Korea’s KT will provide its artificial intelligence solutions for Ambassador Hotel Group, helping the global hotel chain to provide AI-based services, the company said Thursday. The Korean mobile carrier and the hotel group signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on building hotels with AI services in the country, starting with Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun & Residences that is slated for opening in July. Under the memorandum, the two companies are planning to connect the h

June 21, 2018

Hyundai Motor partners with Audi to boost fuel cell electric vehicles

South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has formed a strategic partnership with Germany’s Audi of Volkswagen Group, in a bid to boost an emerging market for fuel cell electric vehicles worldwide. The two announced a multiyear patent cross-licensing agreement, covering a broad range of FCEVs components and technologies, with an ultimate goal of developing FCEVs together, according to the announcement. The partnership between the first producer of hydrogen-powered veh

June 20, 2018

Korean market grows for online, mobile games

South Korea was the world’s third-largest market for online video games and the fourth-largest for mobile games last year, according to data provided by market research firm Euromonitor International on Wednesday.Korea’s online video game market was valued at $1.69 billion in 2017, marking an on-year growth of 23.2 percent. The country’s mobile game market was valued at $2.34 billion in the same year, up 36 percent from the previous year.China ($11.9 billion) and the US ($2.24 billion) were the

June 20, 2018

KAIST to host forum in Seoul discussing AI ethics, policymaking

KAIST, South Korea’s leading science and technology research university, will host a forum in Seoul on Thursday to discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence technology development as well as policymaking around the world. Titled “Taming Artificial Intelligence: Engineering, Ethics and Policy,” the forum will invite some of the world’s leading AI researchers, including those who recently made headlines for announcing a boycott of KAIST over its alleged contribution to developing autonomous “k

June 20, 2018

SK Telecom separates 11Street from SK Planet to catch up with Amazon

SK Telecom’s board of directors decided to split money-losing subsidiary SK Planet into an e-commerce and a data tech firm as part of strategies to boost the online shopping business, it said Tuesday. The parent company also said it has helped finance 500 billion won ($448 million) for SK Planet’s e-commerce platform 11Street with a goal of developing the platform as the Korean version of Amazon. The mobile carrier attracted the investment from various investors including private equity H&Q Kore

June 19, 2018

[News Focus] Mobile operators speed up 5G commercialization after allocation

South Korea’s three mobile operators are speeding up their plans to commercialize fifth-generation network services after the completion of the auction for 5G frequency bands. According to the plans, the mobile carriers are preparing to select equipment vendors in the third quarter and start building 5G stations in the fourth quarter. “Some are expecting the vendor selection to be completed by early July,” said an industry official. “Now with the frequency auction being completed, each company w

June 19, 2018